13-year-old boy dies after Copper Mountain skiing accident

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A 13-year-old boy is dead after a skiing accident at around 1 p.m. today on Copper Mountain.

Tristan Bartlett was pronounced dead at 1:30 p.m. at the St. Anthony Copper Mountain Medical Clinic located at the base of the resort, said Summit County Coroner Tim Keeling.

Keeling said Barlett hit a tree. The Houston resident was not wearing a helmet at the time of the accident, the coroner said.

Keeling said that Bartlett's next of kin has been notified, but that no further information will be available while the incident is under investigation.

Tracy LeClair, the spokeswoman for the Summit County Sheriff's Office, said the incident is not currently being investigated as a criminal matter.

"There's no indication that there was any criminal activity at all," she said.

Copper Mountain Ski Patrol received a call at 12:53 p.m. that a 13-year-old was involved in an accident on the beginner trail Vein Glory. Ski patrol provided emergency first aid before transporting Bartlett to the clinic, according to a written statement from Copper Mountain Resort.

Officials there said the teen was not wearing a helmet at the time of the accident. While not required of skiers, wearing a helmet is highly recommended, said Stephanie Sweeney, a Copper Mountain spokeswoman.

An investigation of the incident is under way at Copper Mountain. Sweeney was unable to provide details on how that investigation would be carried out.

The incident appears to be one of the first skiing-related deaths in Summit County this season.